Breast support



A. L. WILLIAMS BREAST SUPPORT Dec. 27, 1955 Filed June 25, 1954 United States Patent Ofiice BREAST SUPPORT Angela L. Williams, New York, N. Y. Application June 23, 1954, Serial No. 438,749 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-42) This invention relates generally to the class of undergarments worn by Women for the purpose of enclosing and covering their breasts and known as brassieres. Such articles, being separate and detached from articles of apparel must themselves have independent support. It is a common practice to employ straps to locate and retain such articles, either shoulder straps or back straps or both.

Because the straps are unsightly and shoulder straps cannot therefore be worn with summer wear and low neck dresses, and also because the back straps especially are uncomfortable to wear and are not dependable, efforts have been made to provide a so-called strapless brassiere, that is, one which will stay in place without the use of straps.

It has for example been proposed to apply them adhesively by employing pressure sensitive adhesive around the berast cups and thus make them self sustaining. However such articles, however supported, do not function to lift up the breasts and support them in elevated position which is desirable both for hygienic reasons and for the sake of appearance. Their purpose is as a covering for the breasts. In such articles also the breast cups are preformed and are not adjustable in size.

An object of this invention is to provide a breast supporting construction which will be easily applied and will be self supporting without the use of straps, which will be simple and inexpensive, and which will lift up the breasts and support them comfortably in a natural and attractive form.

Another object is to avoid preshaping and stitching and to provide an article which will be shaped by applying and hence adaptable for various sizes and shapes of breasts.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention contemplates an article which is made fiat and which assumes an open top cup shape as it is applied, the dimensions of the cup depending upon the manner of adjustment during application. It is made of a relatively stiff but flexible material, and is "of a shape merely to engage the breast from below and thus lift up and support the breast.

The article of the invention is adhesively attached to the body of the wearer, the marginal portion of the part which forms the open top cup having its inner surface provided with pressure sensitive adhesive so as to be adhesively attached around the bottom and sides of the breast. The article thus functions in the manner of a supporting and lifting sling rather than as a covering or enclosure for the breast.

Specifically the article is made of an adhesively backed rather stiff fabric, such as muslin, shaped to an approximation of a segment of a circle, the chord of the segment constituting the top edge of the supporting cup. The article is cut from the fabric so that the threads of weave run parallel to the top edge and at right angles thereto. The bottom is fashioned to a straight line leaving the sides rounded. The rounded corners are therefore cut on the bias of the weave and thus enable a certain amount of stretching. This permits of shaping so that the adhesive marginal strip portion may be applied fiat to the body while the inner or enclosed portion will become cupped, the shape depending on how much the upper ends of the adhesive margins are brought in. Thus a fiat member is converted to a three dimensional article. The positioning of the article is entirely within the control of the wearer and how much it is caused to lift the breast depends upon the shape of the breast when it is unsupported.

The adhesive face is covered with a coarse fabric such as crinoline or gauze and it is weakened, as by cutting, along a line which defines the inner edge of the adhesive marginal strip. Therefore the covering for the adhesive over this marginal portion is easily removed when the article is to be applied.

The invention will be understood from description of an embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is an outer face view of an article made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section of the same on enlarged scale on the plane of line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an inside face view applied;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the article shown applied, a portion of the body to which it is applied being indicated;

Fig. 5 is a side View of the figure of a wearer with the article applied; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the inside corner of the breast support showing an auxiliary covering piece for the upper portion of the breast adhesively attached to the breast support.

The article shown in its unapplied state is of generally segmental circular shape, of multiple ply cloth construction and flat. The outer layer 10 is a rather stiff woven fabric such as muslin, having its back face coated with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 11 which is covered with a layer of coarse woven fabric 12, such as crinoline. Inward from the arcuate edge and substantially parallel thereto the covering crinoline layer 12 is weakened or severed as by cutting along a line 13. Between the line 13 and the arcuate edge is thus defined a marginal strip portion 14 which, as will be seen, is disposed flat against the body when the article is applied.

For utilitarian purpose as well as appearance the top edge is shaped somewhat from a straight chord into a curvilinear contour, being highest at its ends and at the middle and concavely curved between those points. The two ends are not quite symmetrical, as shown, the article being made in rights and lefts with the marginal strip portion 14 at the inner end of the article continued up beyond the line of the top edge so as to provide an eX- tending point 15 that will overlie the breast bone or sternum when the article is applied. The marginal strip portion 14 at the outer end of the article may be cut straight off or even beveled, as shown, so as to have no extending point, since at this end the margin is adhesively attached to flesh overlying the ribs and therefore gets a firm foundation.

As indicated, the article is so cut from the muslin that the weave of the layer 10 extends lengthwise and transversely of the article, that is, generally parallel and at right angles to the chord forming the top edge. Also the bottom edge for a distance each side of the center line is cut straight with the longitudinal weave. Therefore when the article is applied there can be no elongation of the strip forming the marginal portion 14 in a longitudinal direction. However, since the rounded corner of the article ready to be Patented Dec. 27, 1955 the following,

portions of the strip 14 are cut on the bias of the material,

theirouter ed'ges may'beelongated' or stretched" to allow V the upper ends of the strip 14 to be turned in without posing, the adhesive on this strip, as shown: in Fig. 3.

Then'the wearer puts. the bottom straight portion of. the strip '14 beneath the breast and presses it against the skin at the. right height to cause the. subsequently formed cup portionto-lift and. support the breast. The ends of the strip: L4 are thenturnedin to cause theinterveningrnaterial to. bulge, outward and form anopeu top cup 16, the dimensions of which depend upon the extent that. the ends of the strip 14 are brought in. It will be observed thatthe muslin material; expands around the. lower cor- 118115, due. to the. cutting of the fabric ill on the bias in those areas, as indicated in Fig. 4,. thereby allowing the adhesive strip. to remainflat as the upper ends are turned The rest of this fiat strip is then adhesively applied to the skin, and it will be. found that the supporting article is. firmly held due to the fact that the inner end of the fiat strip is secured over the sternumand the outer curved end; lateral of the. breast. is secured. to the flesh upon the ribs which will allow of no sagging.

As indicated the nipple will usually rest upon the top edge of the support and be exposed. Some wearers may preferv to cover the exposed upper portion of. the breast and for this purpose an auxiliary fabric piece 17 of jersey 01: other suitable material may be supplied with the support as an attached part of the complete combination. The end of the piece 17 will be adhesively connected by insertingit between the back covering layer 12. and the adhesive layer, as indicated in Fig. 6.

It will thus not interfere with the putting on of the support and will b in 'tlie'proper disposition for the wearerto tucli'i't into the cup around its upper edge and conveniently. form a covering for the otherwise exposed portion of the breast. It will be understood that the invention relates to the principles inherent in the article above described and is independent of the specific details of the construction illustrated in the drawings and above particularly described, and that modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claim What is claimed is:

A breast support comprising aflat member. having approximately a segmental circular outline of less than a semicircle and having an: outer layer of cloth the circular peripheral portion of which is circumferentially extensible, a layer of pressure sen. 'tive adhesive completely covering the inner face of said cloth layer, and an inner layer of reiatively sti'tt. cloth having. a. segmental circular. outline of lesser. radial dimension than the. outer layer and con.- centrically and permanently adhesively. secured. to. the in.- ner face of the outer layer, and. a removable. cloth strip covering the. adhesive. on the peripheral portion oi the outer layer radially outside said. inner layer.

ReferencesCited' in the file of this patent .UNlTED'STAT-ES PATENTS Great. Britain June' 20, 1939. 

